


7 Years Late (is Better Than Never)

by AkariZyne



Category: The Avengers (2012), X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: Still Have Powers, Angst, Azazel is a hot bartender, BAMF Charles, Charles is a mother hen, Charles works three jobs, Charles/Azazel if you squint really really hard, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Erik is an idiot, M/M, Mpreg, OMG Seb isn't evil!!, Poor Alex all alone, drunk sex eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-07-27
Updated: 2015-10-16
Packaged: 2017-12-21 11:52:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/899993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkariZyne/pseuds/AkariZyne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>7 years ago Erik made a mistake that cost him the love of his life. 7 years later Erik tries to make amends. But is 7 years late really better than never?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning of the End Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> I once had the perfect summery for this story and then the webpage got closed before I hit the post button and I lost it...now my summery sucks...I'm kinda irritated  
> I have to thank my wonderful sister Amaya Mizuno for being my beta for this story even though she has no interest in this fandom what so ever.  
> I'm kinda slow to update and I have trouble making really long chapters no matter how hard I try.  
> I hope you enjoy =)

Chapter 1  
The Beginning of the End Part 1

Looking back on it now, I should’ve known something was wrong. Erik and I met our freshman year of college in a 100 level physics class at Cambridge University. We were lab partners and were practically joined at the hip almost instantly. I was sixteen, Erik was eighteen, and we were both too stupid to see that we were hopelessly in love. Two years and a lot of jealous fits later, we finally got together, with a little help from my sister Raven… Okay a lot of help, but I’ll save that story for another time.

I suppose the trouble really started the day Erik asked me to stay out of his mind. We had been together for two years and there hadn’t been any signs. No pulling away from me, no hanging out with other people. In fact, we were cuddling on his couch when he suddenly demanded I stay out of his head. At first it hurt - after all, my telepathy is as a part of me as my dick - so I felt kind of rejected until I started thinking. Maybe he was finally planning on asking me to move in with him, or perhaps even thinking of proposing to me. The thought of either made me giddy so I didn’t complain. If he wanted it to be a surprise then I wouldn’t ruin it. In hindsight, it would have just been better if I had stayed heartbroken.

Two months passed by and still nothing to tip me off that my life was about to go to hell. The third month I got a call from my mother, and let’s face it… my mother hates me; anytime she calls it means trouble for me. She had asked me to come back to the Westchester mansion. I fantasized that this meant that the abusive asshole I called a step-father had died, but I knew better. Kurt would never die that easily.

So I went back. Unfortunately, though it was no surprise, Kurt wasn’t dead and to add to my growing list of problems, I was disinherited. Cut off, completely. I had some money saved up so I wasn’t worried, but the hurt was still present. I was, however, relieved when I learned that Raven at least was still in the will.

Ah, Raven, my beautiful, blue adopted sister. I miss her from time to time, when I'm not too broken up and angry over her betrayal. But that’s coming up, so I’ll try to not get too ahead of myself.

Now where were we, ah yes, I remember. So I headed home, well back to Erik’s anyway. When I arrived, I found Erik playing Call of Duty with Raven over Xbox connect. I don’t particularly like the violence that the game symbolizes but whatever; I wasn’t going to begrudge him his game. I went over to the couch and sat next to him. He leaned over without taking his eyes off the telly and kissed my cheek, so I thought he was listening. I started ranting about how cruel it was to cut me off right before my last semester and how ridiculous it would be to have to get a loan for just the one semester, though I was actually looking forward to getting a job and earning my own money to pay for it. When I finished, he told me it’d be okay and that I didn’t need them anyways. So I just sat there and watched him play until he shut the game off after they won. We went to bed and cuddled, but he didn’t start anything, which really should have clued me in, but I wasn’t really in the mood for sex. I thought nothing of it, feeling happy that Erik knew me so well. Or, at least that’s what I had thought. A week later, my world shattered.

 

7 years earlier

Charles was running late. He was supposed to meet everyone at Sue’s Country Kitchen for dinner at 5. It was 5:15. As he rounded the corner he saw his rather small group of friends still waiting and gave a sigh of relief. They were passing something around and he wondered what it was.

“Hey guys. Sorry I'm late. Class ran --.” Charles trailed off as he took in their expressions: disbelief, anger, and hurt. “Is something wrong?” he asked, looking at the anger and hurt written on Erik’s face.

“How could you Charles?!” Raven burst out, thoroughly startling him. He was about to ask what it was that he did when Alex started.

“I thought you were better than that Charles.”

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb! We know all about it!” yelled Sean. Charles was becoming increasingly more confused.

“What did I do?”

“Enough Charles!” Erik yelled in frustration. “Even if you admitted it, we’re through.” Charles’ heart stopped in his chest before cracking, Erik continued. “I'm sorry I'm not enough for you, but I refuse to be cheated on!” Erik flung what appeared to be a picture at him and started to walk away, everyone but Hank following. When Charles looked to Hank to ask what was going on, Raven yelled for him to follow. He did so rather reluctantly.

“Sorry Charles.” Hank said as he left to follow the group. Charles felt so confused. He looked down at the cause of all the hurt, it was picture. A picture of him kissing a girl he’d never seen before which confused him immensely. Didn’t they realize that he couldn’t kiss someone he had never seen before? And why did Erik think Charles cheated on him? Didn’t he know Charles better than that? Didn’t they all know him better than that? Didn’t Erik know that Charles loved him and only him? Wanted no one else but him? When he looked up though, everyone was already gone.

Charles didn’t realize he was crying until he got back to his apartment. He felt so heartbroken and numb. He tried to call everyone only to get no answers so he tried texting them instead. He wanted to tell them the truth - that he didn’t know the person in the picture; however, no one would respond. After an hour of trying, he stopped and decided to try again the next day. Unfortunately, the next day was even worse.

Charles’s alarm went off at 7am and was immediately shut off. He hadn’t slept that night. Getting out of bed, Charles heard someone knocking at the door. Hoping it was Erik, Charles bolted to the door. He felt his face fall when he came face to face with the building manager.

“I'm sorry sir but I'm here to inform you that your lease has been officially terminated. And, as requested by the building owner Mr. Marko, you have two days to move out. Thank you, have a nice day.” Charles couldn’t even reply. After standing in the doorway for what seemed to be an eternity but was only about two minutes, Charles walked back in and collapsed on the couch. He noticed his cell phone on the coffee table and picked it up. Nothing new, but he decided to give it another try. Still nobody answered, not even after he texted them about having to move out. He curled up on the couch and cried.

He felt so betrayed. His sister was supposed to take his side and she hadn’t. Neither had his friends, not even Hank. He felt so abandoned and alone. When he was finally able to get a handle on his emotions, Charles called Will and Jim’s Storage and Moving Company to set up his storage space and arranged for them to come by and pick up his stuff in two days, then he proceeded to start packing.

Two days passed quicker than Charles thought possible. The movers showed up bright and early on moving day and Charles gave them everything but a bag of clothes to take to the storage unit. Fortunately it was an already furnished apartment so the furniture stayed but Charles still had boxes upon boxes of books that were now on their way to the storage unit.

Still not having heard from anyone, Charles left his apartment and headed for the closest homeless shelter near campus, wanting to save what little money he had left for his last semester of school. Two weeks went by and still no word. It became increasingly colder out as Thanksgiving came and went but Charles didn’t notice.

He was becoming progressively more nauseous in the mornings and he didn’t know why. He didn’t attempt to go to the doctor until after finals, and that was only when he started to actually throw up. At first he couldn’t believe it even after the doctor told him that, while still rather rare, he wasn’t the first male mutant to be pregnant and that he shouldn’t worry too overly much but to still take it easy all the same. ‘ _Since I’m only two and a half months along, I can still finish my last semester and graduate, can’t I?’_ He asked the doctor.

“So long as you don’t have any labs, then yes, you can complete your last semester.” Charles paled; all but one of the classes he needed to graduate had labs which meant that no, he wouldn’t be able to finish his last semester. With a heavy heart he called Erik; even with the split he still deserved to know.

Unfortunately Erik didn’t answer. He tried Raven, no answer. He called the others, but they didn’t answer either. So he texted them instead, telling them he was pregnant. He finally got a response, but not the one he was hoping for.

Hank didn’t reply. Charles couldn’t really blame him, after all if Hank were to respond positively to Charles then it would make the already rocky relationship between him and Raven even rockier and he didn’t want that. Raven, Alex, and Sean all texted back and called him a liar and pathetic. Erik… Erik actually called but Charles couldn’t get a word in edgewise while Erik called him a liar and pathetic for thinking Erik would actually believe such a lie. To top it off, he called Charles “a dirty lying whore who needs to go fuck himself and leave everyone the fuck alone,” before promptly hanging up without Charles so much as saying hello.

Charles was all but shattered. His mother disowned him, his sister and his friends abandoned him, the love of his life hated him, and he found out he couldn’t finish his last semester and graduate. He cried the whole way back to the shelter; still more while packing his bag back up. As he was leaving the shelter he spotted a calendar hanging on the wall. December 25th was the next week, well happy fucking Christmas to him. All he wanted was nothing more than to get away.

His tears cease long enough to hail a taxi and tell the taxi to take him to the airport. Charles bought a ticket for the furthest place he could afford; which was, after having to pay for the storage unit, sadly, only New York City.

It only took Charles two hours to get to NYC and he would have cried the whole plane ride there had he not felt so very numb. He’d finally run out of tears, and while he would never get over Erik, he felt it was time to move on and start a new life. After all, it wasn’t just his wellbeing he had to think about now.

When Charles disembarked from the plane he only had $1.03 left in his pocket and nothing left in his savings.    


	2. The Beginning of the End Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Erik's take on what happened

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for being amazing Amaya.

Chapter 2  
The Beginning of the End Part 2

To this day, I still regret it. I can pin point the exact moment I let my life turn into a living hell. I should have said something to him; I should have done something, anything when it started, but instead I kept it bottled up and it cost me the love of my life.

I received the first cryptic letter about a week before classes started. Its only contents _“Don’t believe him,” printed on_ the middle of the page. I looked at the envelope but there was no return address. I thought someone was merely playing a prank so I threw it away. However, things didn’t stop there. I continued to receive letter after letter after letter. Each letter contained messages such as “ _Don’t believe him,” “He’s lying,”_ and so on. I was confused, not knowing who or what the letters were pertaining to. I quite frankly wasn’t that concerned until three weeks after I got the first letter.

At the time, I figured it would be like all the others but this one, this one was different. “He’s cheating on you.” Suddenly all the other letters made sense. But I still didn’t believe them. That was, until the pictures started coming.

At first it only showed Charles out with a couple other guys and a few girls. None of that was particularly incriminating, but it still hurt. With my trust in him shaken, I told him to stay out of my head. He looked hurt and confused at first but seemed to accept it nonetheless. When he withdrew from my head without a single complaint, I became suspicious but didn’t bring it up.

Two months went by and no more letters came so I let the issue drop. The first weekend during the third month had Charles leaving for Westchester and returning in a huff. I couldn’t quite make out what he was ranting about since I was busy trying to kill the other players in Call of Duty. From the bits and pieces I did pick up, I told him that he didn’t need those assholes he called his family. This seemed to appease him. Another week passed by before everything fell apart.

I left to meet our group of friends at Sue’s Country Kitchen for dinner. It wasn’t too far so I decided to walk, stopping to check the mail on my way out. There was only one envelope; it was big with no return address, tipping me off right away. Figuring it was like all the others, but curious as to why this one happened to be bigger, I opened it. There were two prints of the same picture but what I saw on them made my heart stop. I tried to tell myself not to believe it; there was no way it could be true. But how could I not believe it with the evidence staring me straight in the face. Of course, as I'm prone to do, I reacted with anger.    

When I got to the quaint little restaurant Raven, Hank, Alex, and Sean were already waiting outside. I was so angry and upset that when Raven asked what was wrong I didn’t even hesitate to show all of them the picture. They couldn’t believe it at first either, but with the evidence right there they couldn’t deny it. Hank was the only skeptic but in our mutual rage we all shut him down before he could even formulate a theory.

Charles was late which gave my anger time to simmer down. His lateness allowed me to come to the conclusion that I’d let him explain himself. However, that all changed when Charles actually showed up; my rage reigniting within seconds of seeing his form.

Raven was the first to explode, followed closely by Alex and Sean, but it was when he went to deny the affair that my anger spiked. In my rage, I threw one of the pictures of him kissing some girl at his chest. I yelled at him, said we were through, and left. The others followed behind except for Hank, which Raven -god, did she have him on a short leash- immediately remedied.

Charles tried calling and texting, but I refused to answer. Two years. We had been together for two whole years. I was gonna ask him to move in with me. I was even beginning to imagine a future of just him and I. At the time, I was glad I hadn’t. Now, though, thanks to the power of hindsight, I regret not asking when I had the chance.     

Eventually Charles stopped trying for the night, but resumed again in the morning. I hadn’t slept a wink so I decided to read the first text. He mentioned something about being evicted. I didn’t care and I didn’t answer.

I spent Thanksgiving at my apartment, with Raven and the others coming over for dinner. Mother called, I told her what had happened. She couldn’t believe it. She even tried defending him, telling me that Charles wasn’t that kind of person. I all but refused to listen, leaving the conversation with a simple “Please… Just drop it.”

Finals came and went. I received a text from Charles for the first time in weeks claiming he was pregnant. To say I was livid would be an understatement. I can only imagine that, that night was not a pleasant one for the metal in my apartment; most of it either melting or disforming in my rage. I phoned him back, calling him out on his lie and how much of a pathetic little whore he was. I’m pretty sure it was made clear that I never wanted to hear from his lying ass ever again. There was no more contact after that.

Raven had confiscated Hank’s phone so he couldn’t talk to the “traitor.” It confused me when one day Hank randomly asked me for all the photos I had gotten in those letters. I wondered why but didn’t ask, just handed them over.

A week later, two days before Christmas, Hank got everyone together. What he revealed horrified me. I don’t remember much, but apparently I ran to the bathroom and threw up. One second I was staring at Hank’s computer listening to him talk about how much time, work, and effort it had taken to find a person in the exact pose necessary who was also just the right height and the next second I was sitting on the bathroom floor while Raven wiped my face with a wash cloth. I would have taken the cloth from her had I not felt so shell-shocked.

I just… I couldn’t believe it. The pictures… they were fakes. Every pose came from Facebook pictures of Charles and I. Hell, Hank said Charles and the girl were literally just Photo-shopped onto a picture of the Cambridge University library, making it look like they were kissing in front of the steps. The girl wasn’t even in the US! Her profile said she was currently studying abroad and had been for two years with recently added photos to prove it. What hurt the most was that the position Charles was in came from my favorite picture. Of us. Together…

It was about six months after Charles and I got together, the whole crew had come over to my place for game night. We had just sat down to play ‘Sour Apples to Apples’ when I got a call telling me that my mother was in the hospital. I freaked out. I was on the complete other side of the Atlantic with no way for me to get to her! I was pacing and working myself up into a panic attack when Charles stepped forward. He suddenly pushed me onto the couch and cupped my face between his hands, foreheads nearly touching, and said to me, “Look at me Erik. Look only at me and breathe because everything is going to be alright.” I realized in that moment that I loved Charles more than anything. Neither of us had realized Raven had taken a picture of that precious moment until one day she handed us each a frame with the print inside.    

When I was able to get off the floor of Hank’s bathroom without feeling nauseous, I tried calling Charles. All I got was a recording saying his phone had been disconnected. I thought back to the text about his eviction and instantly felt the panic rise in my chest. It must have shown clear as day on my face because Raven asked what was wrong. I could barely get my throat to work but somehow I managed to slip out that we needed to go to Charles's apartment. 

When we arrived I knocked frantically on his door only to have some stranger answer. When asked, the person explained that they had just moved in. I didn’t wait for them to finish; I raced straight to the building manager’s door. He told me that Charles was ordered out of his apartment by Kurt Marko - the asshole he called his step-father- and that he didn’t know Charles’ whereabouts. I felt so heavy-hearted that words refused to leave my mouth, leaving me to just walk away.

I told myself that I’d find Charles at the beginning of the semester, apologizing and begging for forgiveness. The only problem, I couldn’t find him. When I looked up his name, he wasn’t registered for any classes. He was just gone, completely and utterly gone.

I -barely- managed to finish the semester and graduate without Charles. The night I got a job at Thorneycroft Engineering, I was so excited. I ran home and shouted out to Charles that I had got the job. The only response I was met with was silence. I cried that night. Sure, I got the job I had been dreaming of, but, without Charles by my side, it seemed worthless. I had lost the light of my life, _mein liebling,_ and I had no one to blame but myself. If I hadn’t disregarded what Charles had said about being pregnant; if I had remembered that he wasn’t, in fact, lying about that, I would have tried harder to find him. As it was, I didn’t find happiness again until 7 years later. Even then, he made me work for it.          


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry this is so late. I really have no excuse I'm just lazy and hate typing. My beta kind of abandoned me because she took too big of a course load this year so it is unbetaed and im sorry for any mistakes and awkward phrasings and the such. 
> 
> I had actually planned on putting the luncheon in this chapter but im having major writers block about it and I figured i'd made you all wait long enough so here is chapter 3 and just a for warning for all of you who are going to ask anyway...don't expect chapter 4 for a while...im gonna go work on it now but it's probably gonna be a couple months...
> 
> i'll shut up now =) enjoy and I hope it lives up to expectations...if you have any ideas or anything for the lunch or things you want to see happen later in the story just PM me or leave it in the comments... either way works =)

Present Time

      I sat behind the front desk of the rather prestigious Lily Hotel when he walked in. I didn’t notice him at first. I made it a habit to lock my telepathy away completely and I was busy reading the latest scientific journal on genetics that I had been given for my birthday a month ago. Thus I was distracted and didn’t actually notice him until he said excuse me. And oh, that voice sounded like pure honey and as deep as the deepest parts of the ocean. Even with how irritated the man sounded, all I wanted was to lose myself to the sweet, deep baritone. Sadly, I couldn’t afford to wander around in my daydreams and the man’s irritation was so palpable that I could feel it behind my mental walls. But when I looked up, my heart froze and I could feel the blood drain from my face. There in front of me, was the most gorgeous person I had ever laid eyes on. Unfortunately, said person standing there in a suave pin-striped Armani suit was none other than one Erik Lehnsherr, someone I hadn’t seen in 7 years; part of me wished to never have seen him again.

      “Charles?!” Erik gaped in surprised. I stared for a moment longer before startling into motion, making the split second decision to pretend I didn’t know him.

      “How can I help you sir?” At first Erik looked confused but didn’t take long to regain the confident look I remembered so well.

      “Charles it’s me, Erik.” I glared at him, I may not have graduated college but I wasn’t stupid nor was I blind but I didn’t want to “reminisce” or whatever so I just turned towards the computer and typed in his name. Despite the slight flutter of happiness at seeing Erik again, that I squashed immediately; I wanted nothing to do with him.

      “Charles?” I turned to the back of the desk to get his room keys before turning back to him to hand them to him.

      “Room 312 sir. Your things have already been delivered.” I replied coldly before turning back to my book in obvious dismissal. Unfortunately Erik has always been rather stubborn.

      “It’s been awhile, how are you?” I glared and didn’t respond. I know it’s childish but he never responded to me back then so I wasn’t going to respond to him now. He grabbed the back of his neck in a rare show of uncertainty and looked off to the side at one of the giant marble columns that littered the lobby before turning his gaze back to me looking rather determined.

      “Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?”

      _‘Bloody hell did he REALLY just ask me to dinner? I mean what the bloody fuck?!’_ I could feel my anger at Erik rising. _‘Did he seriously think that I’d even consider it? Sure it’s been seven years since then but that doesn’t change the fact that he shattered my heart. A heart I had to put back together BY MY SELF while raising two infant children! Thinking of which, I hope Kitty isn’t too much longer otherwise I'm going to be late picking them up.’_ When I realized that my glare hadn’t scared Erik off, and it was obvious he was waiting for a verbal answer, I growled in irritation.

      “I’m sorry Erik but I can’t, maybe some other time.” I winced at my polite tone and the unconscious offer of another time and cursed my deceased mother for ingraining such polite and rather inconvenient manners into me when all I wanted to do was scream and yell. Thankfully, just as Erik was about to reply, Kitty showed up.

      “Sorry I'm late Charles. Class ran over. Thanks for covering.”

      “It was no problem Kitty.” I nodded and packed my book into my gray, rather dull messenger bag before vacating the front desk. I chanced a glance at Erik’s face; he looked torn, about what I wasn’t sure nor did I particularly care.

       I walked out the front doors of the Lily and felt my ire rise, Erik had followed me out. I hesitated, I was already late and I needed to pick up Ashelyn and Talon from school but I didn’t want Erik to follow me.

      “What do you want Erik?”

      “To go back in time and stop myself from making the stupidest mistake of my life.” He muttered it under his breath and I don’t think I was supposed to hear but I was unimpressed anyway so I didn’t say anything, just glared. He sighed and continued. “I want to take you to dinner. I need to apologize.” It took everything I had not to explode at him; however I couldn’t keep the anger from my voice.

      “No. I don’t want your useless fucking apologies Erik. So why don’t you turn around and go to your room and just leave me the fuck alone.” I turned to walk away only to be held in place by the metal buttons on my uniform. Curse high-end hotels with their high-end uniforms that have to have real gold buttons.

      “Erik!”

      “Please Charles.”

      “NO! I don’t want to hear it! It’s been seven years. Seven long years Erik!” I was starting to panic; if I was any later in picking up the kids then I was going to be working my bar shift on less than five hours sleep.

      “The Charles I knew would have at least listened to what I have to say!” Erik said rather bitterly. I snapped.

      “Listen to what you have to say?! The hell with that Erik! You didn’t listen to what I had to say seven years ago!”

      “I know I’m sor-“

      “DON’T! I don’t give a fuck about what you have to say right now. And you’re right I’m not the Charles you remember because PEOPLE CHANGE ERIK! Now LET. ME. GO!” I used a bit of telepathic force behind my command to make sure he actually let go of me and took off for the elementary. Thankfully he didn’t try following again.

 

Erik’s POV

      To say I was surprised when Charles used his telepathy against me would be an understatement. I was so startled that I just couldn’t bring myself to follow him and I distantly wondered if this almost crippling pain that I felt at watching Charles walk away is how Charles felt all those years ago when I walked away.

      When he was finally out of sight I turned and walked back into the hotel, only having half a mind to stop and ask the young girl, Kitty, whether or not Charles worked tomorrow. Apparently he worked Monday through Friday from 5am to 2pm, so I decided to try again tomorrow.

      It had been seven years since I last saw Charles and I had already given up hope of ever seeing him again. To just find him, randomly, after I had given up shocked me to my core. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. He looked haggard and sleep deprived, which concerned me. I know most people would have moved on by now but there had never been anyone after him; just a lot of one night stands and failed first dates. Charles was and always had been _mein Schatz,_ from the moment I met him til even now, running into him after so long only reinforcing the feeling, so I knew I had to do everything in my power to get him back and pray that it wasn’t already too late to do so. Obviously he wasn’t going to make it easy either, not that I expected him to but…What was I suppose to do now, how could I convince him to listen to me…

      These thoughts consumed me and kept me up all night pacing so when 5am rolled around I straightened my suit that I hadn't changed out of and went down to the lobby. Charles was just getting settled when I walked up to the front desk.

      “Do you want some breakfast?” I found it odd when he jumped, startled, and dropped his bag; pens, a book and a bunch of other stuff falling out. Sure his back was to me but he’s a telepath, didn’t he sense me coming? He spun around. He didn’t glare at me this time but he did look guarded. And he still looked haggard, like he didn’t sleep much, of course neither did I.

      “I…um…no, no thank you.” He squatted down and picked up everything, shoving it all back into his messenger bag before he stood back up just to sit down in his rather ergonomic chair and started clicking away on the computer, once again in obvious dismissal but I wasn’t going to give up.

      “Can I get you a coffee?” this time when he looked at me he glared and bit his bottom lip, like he use to when he was nervous or considering something.

      “No thank you.”

      “Can I get you anything?” I was starting to grasp at straws. He stared at me obviously trying to gage my intentions. My heart sank as I watched his eyes grow cold.

      “What do you want Erik?”

      “I want to apologize.”

      “By buying me food?” I could hear the anger in his voice.

      “No. I know buying you food isn’t enough but it’s still something I can do for you.” I replied hoping it’d lower his defenses, it didn’t,. He still eyed me warily before answering my original question.

      “No, thank you. I don’t want anything.” I sighed and looked away, taking a brief notice of all the seemingly random marble columns in the lobby. When I looked back he was still watching me.

      “Can I take you to lunch?” He scowled at me and bit his obscenely red bottom lip that I knew was actually its natural color.

      “You aren’t going to stop until I say yes are you?” he grumbled out rather bitterly. I ignored his tone, smiled, and shook my head no. He sighed and I could hear the irritation in it.

      “Fine, but after this I want you to leave me alone. Understand?” I nodded but prayed to myself that he’d change his mind after lunch.

“My break is at 10:30. I’m leaving for lunch at 10:35 with or without you so if I were you I’d be in the lobby by then, waiting.” I grinned despite feeling a little down trodden at being told to leave him alone, something I had no intention of doing regardless of whether he changed his mind about it or not.

      “Don’t worry I’ll be down here by 10:25.” I wanted to keep talking but Charles obviously wanted to be left alone and I didn’t know what else to say so I nodded once more and went back up to my room.

      My room was pretty nice. It wasn’t a suite but the door opened into a lounge area with an open arch doorway on the right wall that lead into a bedroom. The bathroom was off of the bedroom and wasn’t big but it was a comfortable size and had a two-seater Jacuzzi tub set in the floor of a slightly raised dais. But the only thing I cared about at the moment was my upcoming lunch with Charles. It was 5:20 and I figured it wouldn’t be wise to go to this lunch feeling sleep deprived so I decided to try to get some sleep. I set the alarm for 9:30 and laid down. Surprisingly, I was asleep in minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you have any ideas or anything for the lunch or things you want to see happen later in the story just PM me or leave it in the comments... either way works =)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jeeesuus Fucking Christ this was the hardest chapter to write ever! I decided enough was enough and I made myself sit down and write the last half of this chapter and it took me over 4 hours! It was just half of it! UGH! Now my head hurts from thinking about it so much and my eyes hurt from staring at my computer but its done! Halle-fucking-lujah! Despite all the trouble this chapter gave me I actually feel pretty good about this chapter :D! Now if you'll excuse me its 10:30pm and I haven't eaten since 1:30 this afternoon and I still need to shower and do my hair for my family reunion tomorrow so Akari out!  
> PS: THIS CHAPTER HAS NOT BEEN BETAED!!!

Charles’s POV

I sighed as I checked in yet another member of New York’s elite class. Yes the Lily was hosting the annual non-profit charity event but the event was only for tonight and honestly they all have chauffeurs so why the hell do they feel the need to check into a room? What can’t they keep it in their pants long enough to get home? They all live in New York for bloody sakes! I don’t think that even if I delved into their minds I would find the answer.

“Hey Charles, its ten-thirty, go take your lunch.” Said a dark skinned young man as he entered the lobby’s check in desk.

“Thank you Darwin.” I replied with a smile.            

“Yep no problem, besides people are starting to complain about the man waiting for you by the door.” Darwin smiled mischievously, “I think it’s his scowling expression that’s putting everyone on edge.” I groaned as Darwin’s comment reminded me about my lunch plans with Erik. Something I was really not looking forward to. I gathered my things and slowly made my way outside, finding Erik leaning against the front of the building scowling just like Darwin said. I glared at him.

“Quit scaring our customer’s away. You’re the one who wanted to go to lunch. If you’ve changed your mind I’ll happily go eat my packed lunch in the break room.” Erik jumped and looked at me with wide worried eyes.

“No no no, I haven’t changed my mind Charles! I'm happy to take you to lunch, ecstatic even.” I sighed but nodded.

“Then lead the way.” Erik hesitated and I knew then that he had no clue where to go. Irritated, I huffed.

“Come on.” I walked past him and started towards a restaurant I was very familiar with. I ignored the embarrassment rolling off Erik, after all it’s not like I gave two shits about how he felt.

The ten minute walk to the diner was quiet. Despite the things I wanted to say and yell at Erik, I didn’t really feel like wasting what little energy I had. Erik was the one who wanted to take me to lunch; he could be the one who started the conversation.

As we approached _Emma’s Diner,_ Erik finally decided to speak up.

“SoOo…How have you been Charles?” I opened the door as I turned to stare blankly at him. He winced and looked away from me as he stepped through door, saying thanks under his breath. I followed him in and watched as he took in the simple but charming design of the diner. I turned to the hostess station and was pleasantly surprised to find my friend, and owner of the diner, Emma standing there.

“Hi welcome to- OH! Charles!” Emma’s tone, which had started out pleasantly bored, sounded genuinely happy when she realized it was me.

“Hello Emma dear.” I stood there as she grabbed my shoulders to hold me in place as she air kissed my cheeks and then led Erik and I to my usual booth.

‘Who’s your friend sugar?’ Emma asked telepathically as we were sitting down.

‘Someone from my past, he wouldn’t leave me alone until I agreed to have lunch with him.’ Emma took Erik’s drink order as her and I continued to converse in our heads, Erik never the wiser. I briefly showed her who exactly Erik was and she gave me a hard look as she turned to go get our drinks, thinly veiled concern emitting through our link.

‘Are you sure that’s wise?’ she asked from across the diner.

‘No, but it’s a little late now. I think I’ll just have a garden salad entrée today my dear.’ I responded as I sat my menu down.

“So you never answered my question.” Erik said, looking at me over his menu and startling me out of my conversation with Emma.

“Oh I'm sorry, was that a serious question?” I responded sarcastically though I'm sure Erik heard the derision in my voice. I could feel the split second burst of anger from Erik before it turned into guilt probably born from my worn down and very obviously exhausted appearance, resignation because he’s just now realizing that I'm not going to converse happily with him, and regret which I confused me. What did Erik have to regret? I sighed rather resolutely before grumbling out the lie that everyone says when asked how they are,

“I'm fine, thanks for asking.” I internally cringed when Erik visibly brightened though I could feel a little bit of concern through my mental shields coming from him. If I hadn’t felt so against using my telepathy I would have looked at the reason behind the concern but as it was I just let it go and forgot about it, not really caring too much.

“That’s goo-“

“Here’s your coffee, black Sir. And here is your usual Earl Grey tea with a spoonful of sugar and two spoonfuls of honey Charles.” Emma smiled at me as she set the drinks on the table. I immediately picked mine up and took a sip.

‘Don’t think I don’t know that you interrupted him on purpose Love. And the tea is divine as usual Darling, thank you.’ Emma didn’t reply, instead choosing to let her smugness emit off her.

“Are you ready to order Sir?” Emma asked Erik.

“I think so. What about you Charles?” Erik looked up at me.

“Charles is a friend and a regular so I already know what he wants.” Emma replied for me. Erik looked a little crestfallen and I had to remind myself that I didn’t care for the reason.

“Oh. Okay then, I’ll have the Reuben.” Emma scrutinized Erik for a moment and I knew she was digging around in his head but before I could reprimand her she must have found what she was looking for because she replied,

“It’s not kosher.” She didn’t even try to stop the smug, slightly cruel grin from pulling at her lips when Erik balked at her in surprise. It was then, as I sighed for what felt like the hundredth time, which I realized, with Erik back in my life and refusing to leave I was going to be doing a lot more, that I decided to explain.

“Emma is a telepath like me Erik. She just doesn’t have boundaries I do.” I picked up my tea and took a sip as I let that sink in for him. “That being said, Erik only keeps kosher if his mother is around Emma dear.” Erik’s eyes widened minutely and once more I found myself wanting to take a peek to see what caused the expression before that desire was startlingly replaced with painful rejection as the vivid image of Erik telling me to stay out of his head played through my mind.

“I see, very well. The Reuben and Garden Salad Entrée will be out shortly.” Emma said as she turned and headed back to the kitchens to place our order.

“She seems…” Erik trailed off as he tried to think of a word to describe Emma.

“Nice?” I suggested innocently before smirking villainously. Nice is the last word anyone would use to describe Emma and I internally cackled as Erik winced.

“Try like the exact opposite of nice Charles. I don’t understand how someone so seemingly cold and ruthless could be friends with someone who is so sweet and warm such as you.” Erik was frowning like a disapproving parent by the end of his little spiel and I could do nothing but laugh heartlessly before being overtaken by the icy anger that I try to keep buried in a box in the back of my mind.

“You should stop living in the past, Erik. I’m not the same fucking person you remember from seven years ago.” I felt the cruel smirk take over my face, “I'm not some bubbly naïve teenager anymore. I no longer believe I'm going to marry the love of my life or, hell, even have a happy ending. I'm cold, cynical, and…damaged is the most accurate term I suppose. So if you think that now that you’ve found me we’re just going to get back together and everything is going to return to the way it use to be and be all hunky dory, I can assure you that you will be dead wrong! There are things about me, things I’ve done, that would make you look at me in disgust. The Charles you knew is gone Erik; I’ve changed and you don’t know anything about me anymore so if I were you I’d just leave me alone and forget all about me.” I glared at him as the thought of him actually listening to me and leaving again twisted my insides painfully.

My anger began to recede back to its usual spot in the darkest areas of my mind, allowing a fair bit of pride shine through at being the cause of the gob smacked expression that Erik now wore. I watched Erik flounder for a second or two before I looked away, unable to handle the hurt that was now sliding into place within Erik’s ever changing light blue eyes. I thanked God when I noticed Emma bringing our food. The sooner we ate the sooner I could return to the sanctity that work was beginning to become.

“Charles?” Erik asked quietly, the hurt warring with concern and confusion. I looked him in the eye for a moment before looking up to Emma as she set our food in front of us. I thanked her before slowly looking back at Erik.

“What?” I asked just as quietly as Emma walked away, looking down at my salad and deciding to take a bite. Erik just looked at me concerned and unsure, obviously floundering for a response. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before he shut his eyes and clenched his teeth in determination. Erik took a deep breath, letting it out as he opened his eyes to look back at me.

“You’re right Charles. I don’t know anything about you anymore. You have changed in seven years so perhaps I should get to know you again. Tell me about yourself.” I stared at Erik slightly awed but mostly wary, surprised by the maturity behind the statement. I took another bite of my salad as I thought about my response and I watched Erik take a bite of his Reuben. I realized in the next moment that no matter how much I hoped or prayed for the opposite, Erik wasn’t planning on leaving me alone anytime soon and despite the little flutter of joylovehopewant I felt at that I still couldn’t bring myself to be completely cooperative in Erik’s endeavor.

“What do you want to know?” I tried to ask sincerely but could hear a slight tinge of scorn in my voice. Erik looked up at me, his sandwich already half gone, before shrugging.

“Anything, everything, how about we start with how you came to work at the Lily Hotel as a desk clerk.” I could hear the distaste for my job in his voice and I cackled mentally as I thought of the perfect response. Smirking I said,

“Simple Erik, I applied for a desk clerk position.” Erik’s face scrunched up in confusion.

“What?” I rolled my eyes.

“Well you see Erik, for most people to get a job anywhere one must first apply. Then the HR representative or representatives must decide whether or not your application is impressive enough to warrant an interview. If one manages to,” Erik interrupted me in a huff.

“Cut the crap Charles. That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh! I'm sorry Erik!” I replied sarcastically. “Please do clarify what you actually meant.” Erik glared at me, his cheeks jumping a number of times from him clenching and unclenching his teeth.

“I meant **why** are you working as a hotel clerk at all Charles?” Erik asked through gritted teeth. I could feel the icy cold anger that had been simmering in the back of my head start to slip forth once more. If Erik thought I’d tell him the real reason; if he thought I’d give him an excuse to pity me and act superior towards me; he had another thing coming.

“Because I needed a job.” I replied, glaring.

“So why didn’t you apply for a teaching position? I’d have thought that by now that you’d have tenure and be nearly done with your doctorate if not completely finished with it.” I flinched at the mention of what had once been, and still was in the rare times I was being completely truthful to myself, my lifelong dream despite having been turned into the bane of my existence. I scoffed, trying to rebury the hurt that always popped up whenever someone talked about how I should have a college degree.

“News flash, life doesn’t always go the way we plan.” I said bitterly.

“So I’ve noticed, but even if you couldn’t find a teaching position, there had to be something open in your field of study, research or something. After all you loved working in the labs! God I remember having to come find you and drag you ass out of the labs most nights just to make sure you ate and got at least a couple hours of sleep.” Erik’s response was laced with equal parts exasperation and fondness. I felt myself blush but whether it was from the small happy feeling I got knowing that Erik remembered those nights fondly or from the anger and hurt at having not only been reminded of how happy my life used to be but once again having my inadequacies and failures, my inability to even finish my undergrad years let alone my dreams for a PhD shoved in my face.

Erik had no right to judge me for my choice in jobs when thanks to him I had to go through a terrifying pregnancy I never even knew I could have all by myself. He has no right to judge me when I've been raising his twins for the last seven years by myself. In my anger I almost said just that before I remembered what I had discovered the day before when I had used my telepathy to stop Erik from following me. Erik didn’t know he had children. Erik remembered the horrible things he called me over the phone but he didn’t remember the exact reason, the text message, the pregnancy. My hands started shaking and I felt light-headed and nauseous. I needed to leave and I needed to do it quickly before I went into a full blown panic attack.

“Honestly Erik, it’s none of your business why I’m working as a hotel clerk instead of as a professor or researcher of genetics or whatever. Now if you’ll excuse me, my lunch break is up.” I finally replied as I got up, throwing a twenty dollar bill on table as I turned and walked out of the diner, briefly saying bye to Emma in her head. For once I was actually happy to return to the mind numbing responsibilities of my job.


End file.
